New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-10-31
LOST IN LAKE MICHIGAN.
FRAGMENTS OF WRECK SCATTERED WIDE.
THE CREW AND PASSENGERS OF THE PROPELLER
VERNON ALL SUPPOSED TO BE DRowSED-soMs

| OF THEM SEEN on RATS IN HIGH SEA-
| MiLwAUKEE, WIS, Oct 30.-Thc passenger pro-
| peIler vernon was wrecked in the terrible gale
that swept Lake Michigan today and her cniirc
crew OF twenty-five persons and the passengers
| number unknown, are supposed to have been lost
1t involves greater loss of life than any of the
| previous disasters on the lake this season not
excepting the propeller CLamplain. which was
burned early in the spring off Charevox, when
| tWcnt-f0ur persons were drowned. singular co
| incidence is that the Vernon was the vcsso which
took the place Of the CLampain in the Nor;hcrr
| Michigan Line and had only bcc., on tie line
since August She was one Of the inest ra,sanror
| boats on the lakes. and had a ,a'u.ti0n Of
s1s00 Captain M.ran Of the sea.A>lip SnpnriOr
| when arrived here at ) 80 o'clock last night
| brought the first news cf the wreck Sail Captain
| Moran
| 10 pass one man on raft appealing for our
| help. another dying from exposure and a small
| boat in which we could see one woman and three
men, one of the latter haing us with coat
stuck up on his oar, all being tossed about in
n terrible sea without being able TO render
| them any assistance, was heartrcndng. We We're
also fighting for our lives, our steamer having
| become disabled in the sea. With the exception
of the cooks. our entire of sixteen men even
to the engineer, were down below some of them
steering the vessel with n temporary tackle which
we had rigged up, while the others were trying
TO repair the break. Our tillcr had become dis
connected from the ruddcr post leaving us 1T the
mercy Of the seas. It, was three hours before we
had made repairs so that could handle our
| selves, and then we were out of sight of the
| shipwrccked men.
| The cooks on deck were the first to call our
attention the wrcckage II was about 10 o'clock
| in the morning when off Two Rivers some miles
| from shore in Lake Michigan that we passed
| through some lumber Five miles further on we
| passed lot Of barrels and then encountered
| wreclage for some distance. Among il was furn:-
ture and bed clothing besides life prcscrvcrs here
and there. One cook said he counted thirteen
! life prcScrvers and | know that il must have
been passenger boat to carry so many. We
passed near some OF the life preservers that
| they might have been picked up had the cooks
used pike pole l was only on deck part of the
time and no others of the came up as they
| had all they could do where they were When
| about six miles eaSt-northcast OF Mantowoc. tho
cook who had been keeping lookout called
me on deck with the information that a raft
could be seen with man on il. As went on
deck | could plainly see the man waving his
hand TO Nc. He was standing upright on the raft
which was ahead about half mile from Ms
| toward the shore. The SEA WAS washing over il.
II pcared TO be about twelve feet square and
as il il might he the top Of cabin Poor fellow,
be must have thought il cruel Of us TO pass by
ana leave him there 10 suffer. Ten minutes later
We sighted another raft. also about a half mile
inside Of our course II was much smaller,
apparently not moro than four by eight feet and
looked Ike piece Of bulwallI On it lay man
who, although still alive. probably did not dis
cover us. as he was too far gone. We could sec
him dip his head rs bis little float was tossed
about in the sea. a. though no was about dead.
We yawl with three men and one woman
in it Little further south. There may, however.
have lcen more Of tbcm lying down in the bost
the three we saw being Oh tie thwarts. One of the
men was standing mp holding his oar with his
| coat swinging 10 attract attention. Their hearts
must have hcon cladlcncl in their cxi xicctation
! Of help from rs. How inhuman they must have
| thought rs whom Vc passed t,m 10y within
mile without c;cn turning orr vessel toward them
But with our steering gear disabled as it w9s,
We could not steer our vessel ana there WAS
uothiHs for to ID bar hope thar some OF ito
| ycsscS coming u? tie Iaic a,tcIn Of Us might
pick them mp.
There is possibility that largo schooner
coming up the hike oftcr us may have picked
pp the persons in tie boat. She WAS three or
four miles a>trrn 0f Us. and could through
'he glass that she was heading toward tncm
But she may have been bOunl for NIanitowoc and
! could have po>s,d without seeing them. There
VS., little possibility that She conld have taken
. Tie men on tie RATS and it is even doubtful il
She could pick up the Nawl in such a sea If she
/ could yet close enough to throw them line >hs
soudded by and they held 20 il. there might
be a chance for them 10 be- saved il was rs heavy
! a sea as ! have experienced in al my life tho
al,os Tho Sanlusl,y. which we had in tow
! I,.lf
her ma>,S could be seen. Once She stayed unde'
50 long that / thought she WAS gone
wrrcKAGE FOUND III ANOTHER VESSEL
I'VE ,cli IN with the wreck about six miles east.
northeast of Two Rivers Point about l 1870 o'clock
sdlG Captain Williams. OF the schooner Joseph
| Page which arrived here at O'Clock
| last night, and 1t took fully
fifteen mluu,e, 20 pas, through. It WAS evidently
the wrecKage oi 4 passenger vessel First we en-
coun cred what we made out 10 be bnadcS 0t bar
rel slaves Then came upon floating barrels.
They looked to me ike h,ur orapple barrels. Tho
next mass of wrcchasc comprised iuoui-
of the men said lie saw
corpse aoa, by. bnt did not zee 1t myself. Next
! we encountered part of a pilot hous', on which y
mlu wa> hoaung. He was OF our port quarter
about half mile and was ciinging TO the pilot
house lie seemed TO he getting along fairly well
he sea was running so high that it lifted our
boat from the davlts Had we discovered the ,nan
on top of the pilot house before we got abreast wo
might have picked him mp, bat we saw
him too late. and II was Impossible
! 70 turn back in the terrible gale
| of wind that was blowing We sighted 4 propeller
! some mile UP the lake and headed for her. hoping
10 report :he wreck 70 her that she might lend as
slstance We found. however. tnat she WAS bound
m th, lake aud must have passed the wreckage.
! but may have been too far out 10 see It,
! Among the wreckase which Captain Moran OF
| tbe Superlor saw were two brackets. with scroll
work. painted an old gold color. They were of n
| Kind carried by the Vernon only This, with tho
foct that the vessel Guc here Yesterday and did
moi arrive confirms the belief that the vessel lost
/ is the Vernon. The staves. apple barrels, and SO
/ forth seen nv Captain Williams Of the Paige. and
! confirmed by the Milw agent OF the line as
! having been part of the Vernon's cargo. leave no
room for doubt.